The apnea was the first form of immersion practiced by man and is still the most instinctive to go underwater.
The possibility of skin-dive is based physiological adaptation called "diving reflex" that is common to all mammals, the dolphin at the sloth, from seals to the dog, though in varying degrees. The diving reflex is surprisingly developed in humans, although it is a predominantly aquatic animal.
The origins of the exploration of the seabed, made with this technique for various purposes, are lost in the mists of time and involve the culture of many countries. The first divers pushed underwater to make spear fishing and collecting shells, precious or useful as ilcorallo, pearls or sponges. The apnea was used, even for war purposes, since ancient times [citation needed] The Romans were among the first to use the urinatores for sabotage operations of the enemy ships [does not explain who the urinatores and do not understand how it happened sabotage].
The first record in free diving had not registered a value sport, but military in 1913, the battleship Regina Margherita stood in front of the island of Karpathos, in the seas of Greece. Because of incorrect detection depth was thrown anchor in a section with a depth between 70 and 80 meters. This, addition of momentum at the end of the chain, the broke (causing, among other things, the death of the first officer) getting lost on the bottom. We also tried to retrieve it from the local population someone who can explore the seabed. Many indicated in Haggi Statti Georgios (probably Hagystatis), a local sponge fisherman, the only one able to succeed. The medical board, doubtful, visited him finding signs of pulmonary emphysema, a serious injury to the eardrum and the total absence of the other, or the inability to hold your breath to dry for more than a minute. Nevertheless, with the aid of a helper and a stone 15 kg linked to a summit, Haggi Statti surprisingly managed to recover the still dispersed in the days after making a series of dips between 50 and 80 meters. The company was certified by the presence of numerous witnesses Maritime official journal of the Italian Navy. [Citation needed]
The company Haggi Statti was long considered a benefit of the exceptional, almost miraculous, and for many years apnea remained unaware of itself and of its potential, until, in the mid twentieth century, exploded a real "race to the depth" whose protagonists were true pioneers as Raimondo Bucher (first official record holder of apnea in 1952), Ennio Falco, Enzo Majorca, Stefano Makula, Jacques Mayol and, more recently, Pipin Ferreras and Umberto Pelizzari and Gianluca Genoni.
The pure apnea, with its profondismo (ie dive into the abyss with his own strength), has in some ways extraordinary aspects: the rediscovery of their water skills goes hand in hand with the knowledge of themselves and of their psychological and physical limits.
